Borderlands (2024)

Borderlands-(2024)
Borderlands (2024)

Immersing myself in the 2K Games and Gearbox Software’s comic book world of Borderlands has taken me hundreds of hours due to its engaging gameplay which has a focus on exploration, cooperation, and constantly finding better guns to shoot at hordes of enemies (I’ve talked about it here, and here, and countless such places). How could I refrain from doing something so amusing when all the games I have to play are quite cyclical in nature those games revolving around what they would term the loot farmer’s in-game pursuit of ever-superior weaponry set to become their on-screen identity Such a planet showcases some truly fantastic characters namely Claptrap, Mad Moxxi, Tiny Tina, and Handsome Jack. The most frequently featured planet Pandora is home to all kinds of inhabitants, including dragon-like monsters and maniacal, mask-wearing foes that resemble ramblers from the film Mad Max: Fury Road. All this is combined with a unique visual style and witty narration replete with jokes and plot twists that belong to a large theatre from an old-fashioned style akin to a vaudeville. It’s like the creative vein of George Miller crossed with the comedic genius of Mel Brooks.

The inspiration that guided the making of the games has remained unused in this ugly, tedious, ridiculously poorly executed movie, one that was predominantly filmed years back and ought never to have been released. Or perhaps for eternity.

This is a film in which the actress stars as Lilith, one of the favorite characters and a vault hunter in the game that has moved from video console to film adaptation A long time ago. To provide context, this film was made when Cate Blanchett was still shooting TAR and Roth had cast actors for Thanksgiving. In this story, Lilith is depicted as a bounty hunter who gets recruited one night by the employees of Atlas who need a no-nonsense mercenary to do a good job for handsome pay. It came as no surprise to hear how ridiculous Lilith’s compensation for the job became, and I chuckled, expecting, or rather wanting to believe that Blanchett was also paid equally good money to participate in this project, which is entirely undeserving of her skills.

The task is to rescue Tina (Ariana Greenblatt), the child of Atlas, who was abducted by the other classic video game character called Roland (Kevin Hart), a soldier turned rogue who ran off to Pandora with the girl and a psychopath named Krieg (Florian Munteanu). Apparently, she might be the missing link for the vault replica located on Pandora which has made an entire business of treasure hunters seeking it.

After Lilith returns to her home planet, she encounters a robot known as Claptrap (portrayed by Jack Black) who introduces some funny moments into the movie. This, of course, would mean there is such a thing as humor in this movie. There isn’t. Just a lot of pointless chatter. Players of the games will recognize other characters that they are familiar with such as Moxxi (Gina Gershon) and Tannis (Jamie Lee Curtis). There are also screenshots that claim Scooter and Hammerlock make brief appearances. Abut look the wrong way, and you are done. I must have blinked.

Naturally, Lilith, Roland, Tannis, Claptrap, and Krieg are a clear-cut emulation of Guardians of the Galaxy, misfits on a distant planet who need their unique skills for the greater good and function as a unit. But the Roth and Joe Crombie script completely ignores the need for them to be given quirks that will be memorable. Blanchett is such a great actress that she sells this vapid screenplay with a smirk, which is a measure of intelligence in this case, but Hart appears disinterested at most times possibly camouflaged in the reshoots which are responsible for most parts of the delay in this movie.

With that being said, Craig Mazin’s name was previously attached to the Borderlands script, the same Mazin who is the mastermind behind Chornobyl and The Last of Us, but his name has been taken off the film following the reshoots. There are a lot of problems that imply a lot of chaos and usually with the chaos more often than not, one is able to identify the composite nature of a lot of the end product but even that game is difficult to play in this case. One can envisage a Mazin version in which a great deal more love and care is lavished on the world building than is the case with the finished product, but so little of that has made it to the final cut.

Another reason it falters in that department is that Roth, a director I have defended within the horror genre a few times, is terrible at directing action. When the film erupts in a hail of gunfire, it would be courteous to call these violent outbursts disorganized chaos. I do not know whether DOP Rogier Stoffers and or editors Julian Clarke and Evan Henke share a portion of the liability, but the construction of the fighting scenes is puzzling. They are edited in a manner that even understanding the layout of an action sequence becomes impossible, let alone being concerned with the events occurring in them. This may appear fussy but a film that is derived from an action video game has to at least in the area of guns and punches provide an escapist on-screen experience. There is not even a single action beat in the film that one would wish to remember. None.

Video game adaptations into films have been frowned upon for years now, and have even been labeled as poison for filmmakers. Over the years, video game movies have managed to accumulate both critical as well as commercial gains. Recently released such as Paramount’s beloved “The Last of Us” and Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie” assure us that this cinematic form won’t lose any momentum, and Hollywood has discovered an audience who loves these types of films. While I enjoyed the “Borderlands” mid-section, images of game franchises turning into movie series and ruining things I enjoy came to me instead. Eli Roth’s version of “Elden Ring,” however, was something I do not wish even my enemies to see. I was close to tears.

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